FIG 2.

Effects of tampon fiber composition and incubation time on S. aureus colonization. The fibers of tampons composed of cotton alone (Natracare super plus), mixed rayon and cotton (Tampax compak super plus), mixed viscose and cotton (o.b. ProComfort super plus), and viscose alone (Nett Procomfort super plus) were incubated for 2, 4, 6, 8, or 24 h at 37°C without agitation in the presence of GFP-labeled S. aureus strain LUG2902. Fibers were then washed, mounted under coverslides, and observed by confocal microscopy, as described in Materials and Methods. Three-dimensional (3D) projections were reconstructed by using the ZENV2.3 software package from z-stacks with 1-μm serial optical sections. Tampon fibers are shown in red, and S. aureus cells are labeled green.